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The purpose of this paper is to study the progress of rural development through the performance of a rural co‐operative.

Random sample of 100 members of the co‐operative have been selected. The opinion of sample members has been collected personally through questionnaire and also direct interview. Secondary data were collected from the published annual reports of the co‐operative. The data, both primary and secondary have been tabulated in a suitable sheet prepared for the purpose. Analyzing and interpreting the collected data, conclusion has been drawn.

The study reveals that the rural co‐operative has been able to improve the living standard of the rural people of the studied area, thus the rural co‐operative accelerated the process of rural development in remote India.

The study, is totally based on the sample opinion and published data of the co‐operative. The period of study is very short. So, the outcome of the study may not be generalized.

A smooth and active system of loan‐issuance and loan‐recovery of a rural co‐operative may uplift the living standard of the rural populace.

This research could assist in the management of a co‐operative since management‐efficiency regarding the recovery of loan has been proved in this paper.

The purpose of our article is to contribute to the further understanding of individual responses to pluralism, by studying in particular the role played by critiques and compromises in the formulation of such responses. Drawing on theoretical insights from the sociology of conventions, we look at the various modes of justification publicly advanced by French co-operators when engaging with co-operative principles. Our analysis allows us to identify three main instantiations, that is situated and flexible enactments, of these principles: pragmatic, reformist, and political. Our contribution to the understanding of pluralism and its instantiations by organizational members is threefold. First, in contrast with studies drawing on an institutional-logics perspective, our study shows that individual instantiations of pluralism rely not only on positive affirmations of logics but also on critical mobilizations of competing logics. Second, our study shows that pluralism can be understood not only as co-existing multiple logics, but also as different possible instantiations of the same logic, the ambiguity of which allows compromises to be settled with other logics. Third, we suggest that organizational members’ responses to pluralism often involve more than two logics, which are combined into a complex set of interdependent judgments. In addition, in relation to co-operative studies, our proposed typology provides a mapping that usefully extends the range of possibilities found in co-operators’ instantiations of co-operative principles, thus furthering our understanding of the diversity of the co-operative movement.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting co-operatives performance by focussing on the roles of its intangible assets which are in the form of intellectual capital and members’ participation.

Questionnaires have been distributed among co-operatives board of members of the 100 best co-operatives in Malaysia. This study used Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis to examine the impact of intellectual capital and members’ participation on the co-operatives performance and determine the most influencing factors that affect the performance.

Results showed that there is a positive relationship between structural capital, relational capital and members’ participation with the co-operatives performance while human capital has been found to have a negative relationship. This is further supported by the findings based on the multiple regression analysis whereby all the independent variables were found to be significant expect for structural capital. Based on the findings, this study proposed a model for co-operatives’ performance which is based on its intangible assets.

Findings of this study would provide guidance for the co-operatives sector to improve its performance and indirectly help the government in realizing the nation economic goals.

This study provided a better understanding on the performance of the co-operatives by focussing on the roles of its intangible assets. Apparently, there are very limited studies on intellectual capital which is based on co-operative framework and thereby this present study would fill in the gap. In addition, due to the objective of the co-operatives which differs from other types of organization, findings of this study might provide significant contribution on the study of intellectual capital.

This paper promotes a critical approach to co-operative studies by contributing new theoretical insights. The aim is to propose a new view on the co-operative firm as a socioeconomic phenomenon embedded into the local contexts in which it is situated. Sociological and economic analyses have mainly explored the relationship between co-operative members and the organization, the economic performance of co-operatives or compared co-operatives with other firm types. Less attention has been given to the co-operative–territory relation, which can reveal insights into members' collective actions, a co-operative's origins from specific social groups or how they establish relationships with certain community stakeholders over others.

The paper begins with a literature review of academic studies that situate co-operatives in relation to community, with a focus on how social capital theory has been deployed to understand this relation. It then proposes a theoretical examination of two fundamental authors in the field of social capital theory: Robert Putnam and Pierre Bourdieu. Drawing on findings from the literature review and considerations derived from the theoretical dialog between Putnam and Bourdieu, the paper proposes a revised social capital-based framework for analyzing key relations and expected outcomes of the co-operative–territory relation.

Reconsidering the role of social capital theory for co-operative studies, this article unfolds a dual reflection. First, it underlines the necessity for research that more closely considers co-operatives' territorial relationships. Second, it critically interrogates and pushes forward social capital theory as a framework for examining the social relations that embed co-operatives and their capacity to activate territorial economies.

The paper highlights the necessity for a further examination of the co-operative–territory relationship. It presents an innovative framework for improving sociological understanding of co-operatives as organizations embedded into their local socioeconomic contexts.

Little research exists on the economic impact of the co-operative sector in Canada, and changes in the sector over time. The purpose of this paper is to fill-in the gaps in the knowledge about the size of the sector and its performance over time using a comparative analysis.

The authors of this paper conducted an input-output analysis of co-operatives in Canada for the years 2009 and 2010. First, the authors quantified the size of the sector for each year and then these two data points were compared to analyze the changes in this one-year period.

This paper demonstrates that co-operatives in Canada are significant to the national economy and remain stable over time.

This is the first time such a study has been done in Canada for the co-operative sector.

In light of the faster than expected take up of the community interest company (CIC) in the UK, the purpose of this paper is to revisit findings from a study undertaken in 2000 on the impact of asset‐locks on the longevity, growth and management styles in co‐operative social enterprises.

This paper is both conceptual and empirical. It examines different worker co‐operative traditions and develops a meta‐theory that explains underlying assumptions in different forms of co‐operative social enterprise. Using empirical data from five common ownership co‐operatives and five equity‐based co‐operatives, this exploratory study finds differences in management style, access to finance and growth prospects both within and between the two groups.

Devolution of management responsibilities is more prevalent in co‐operatives permitting both individual and collective ownership, as opposed to common ownership. Access to external finance is less problematic for organisations where individuals have made investments. Despite this, it is not established that organisations with external equity or loan finance grow quicker or fare better over the longer term.

The value of the paper lies both in the development of a meta‐theoretical framework for differentiating forms of worker co‐operative, as well as empirical evidence on the impact of asset‐locks in the management and development of social enterprises. The study suggests that the companies limited by share (CLS) version of the CIC, or abandonment of the CIC in favour of an appropriately structured CLS or Industrial and Provident Society model, may be appropriate for social enterprises wishing to grow, but makes little difference in small service oriented social enterprises.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of regional responsibility and to provide a deeper understanding of customer‐owned co‐operatives and their social embeddedness.

First, extant conceptions of corporate social responsibility are discussed, concentrating on two approaches; the one employing stakeholder theory and the one employing resource‐based view of the firm. Second, co‐operatives as a form of economic organization that have a natural interest in engaging in regionally‐oriented corporate social responsibility practices are studied, including active participation in regional strategy processes and local and regional development. Finally, the concept of regional responsibility is illustrated by analysing qualitative data.

Regional responsibility is in the core of customer‐owned co‐operatives' CSR. Co‐operatives are tentative to their customer‐owners, employees and other regional stakeholders. Regional responsibility also means the utilization of the region's resources and advocacy of local interests. In fact, co‐operatives may be considered as ‘flagship enterprises’ in their regions, promoting the businesses of the whole network of economic actors linked to them. Co‐operatives engage also in non‐business related activities to support the surrounding community.

While this study helps to understand regional responsibility of customer‐owned firms, as such the findings are limited to the context of this study.

The paper analyzes co‐operatives' social responsibility from a regional perspective and introduces the concept of “regional responsibility”.

This paper aims to provide a theoretical conception that establishes growth rate dynamics for co-operatives and studies Moroccan co-operatives’ start-ups and closures, by analyzing the co-operatives’ growth rate speed of adjustment (SOA).

This paper documents the basic patterns of entry and exit flow for agricultural, artisanal, housing and fishery co-operatives; highlights, with econometric tests, whether co-operatives’ growth rate is mean reverting or a unit root random walk; and estimates the growth rate adjustment speed, using a quadratic interval reverting model to capture both the upward and downward speeds of adjustment.

The empirical results indicate that co-operatives’ growth rate is significantly mean reverting for all sectors. Also, it concludes that the upward and downward adjustment speeds are significantly different within and between sectors, with negative indicator for artisanal co-operatives. The paper discusses these results, which are of interest to academics and policymakers.

The study does not investigate the causes of the growth rate SOA. Further, in-depth work with the results of this study would help scholars and policymakers to get close to the accurate research questions that characterize the mean reverting and affects the adjustment processes for Moroccan co-operatives.

The suggested model – with upward and downward adjustment speeds– could be valuable for policymakers’ strategies on co-operatives’ emergence.

The paper moves policymakers closer to social work and socio-economic trends to explain the empirical regularities of co-operatives’ dynamics. The model could be of value to avoid a volatile rate of entries and exits, to ensure continuity, to avoid fast failure of co-operative memberships and then to achieve the social inclusion.

The paper provides empirical evidence and results for co-operatives’ start-ups and closures adjustment speed and determines the conditions in which government policy must be clarified and specified. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first empirical analysis for the co-operatives’ SOA over entry and exit dynamics.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the accountability practices of the directors in New Zealand and Australian dairy co-operatives. An interpretation of their practices, which focus on the relationship between directors and their farmer-shareholders, is informed by Roberts’ (2001a) understandings of a socializing accountability.

The fieldwork consists of interviews with 23 directors, including all chief executive officers and chairmen, of six dairy co-operatives together with observations and document analysis. These co-operatives together comprise a significant portion of the regional dairy industry. The methodology draws from Eisenhardt’s (1989) qualitative approach to theory formation.

The authors find that these directors engage in a discourse-based, community-grounded and egalitarian form of socializing accountability. As such, their practices adhere generally to Roberts (2001a) hopes for a more considerate and humble relationship between an accountor and an accountee.

Findings add to the small pool of research on the lived experiences of co-operative boards and to a parsimonious literature in socializing accountability practices. The contributions of the study are in advancing real understandings of alternative forms of accountability, in evaluating the conditions in which these alternatives may be likely to arise and in anticipating the challenges and opportunities that arise therefrom.

The originality of the project arises from accessing the views of these industry leaders and, through their frank expressions, coming to understand how they achieve a form of a socializing accountability in their relationships with farmer-shareholders.

Corporate reputation (CR) is an important intangible asset of a company. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of CR on co-operants behavior and on organizational performance in co-operative organizations.

This investigation proposes an investigation model and tests the framework using structural equation modeling. For this purpose, 263 valid questionnaires were collected from a research sample comprised of co-operants of the biggest dairy union of co-operatives in Iberia.

CR has a significant impact on co-operatives members’ loyalty and on co-operatives’ performance. The model provides a wider comprehension of the CR concept and introduces both the drivers and consequences.

This investigation is based on a sample of members of one union of co-operatives in the specific dairy milk industry.

The results give new guidelines to redress the co-operatives traditional management, namely the management of intangible assets like reputation. Internal culture, satisfaction with management, image and communication can boost reputation and thus organizational performance and members’ loyalty.

This paper aims to contribute to the competitiveness of a type of organization closed to the social structure of the rural population.

The results bring the management challenges of the twenty-first century to the traditional principles underlying co-operatives management helping them to reinforce competitiveness.